Defense Mechanisms
by SarahTee
Summary: Something's wrong with Hermione...what is it, and can anyone help? Set in the trio's seventh year, and there's no Voldermort - he's already deader than a door nail. Please read and review!
1. Prologue

A/N: This is my first Harry Potter fic, so if I make any mistakes please be kind

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If ya really wanna sue me then you can have what I got...Student loans debts!

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Harry couldn't wait for the holidays to be over. He had had to go back to the Dursleys of course, and they had made his summer as miserable as they possibly could. Their treatment of him was the same as it had always been, but now they added to their list of torments complete isolation…they had taken away his only means of writing to Ron and Hermione over the summer by locking Hedwig in the cupboard under the stairs. They let him in to feed her, and once a week they let her out of the house to fly - after thoroughly checking that she was carrying no hidden messages first, of course. 

He knew for a fact that Ron and Hermione had tried to write to him, but their letters were intercepted every time. It had been a long summer, but it was finally nearing its end. In three days he would be aboard the Hogwarts Express with his friends.

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"Harry! Harry, over here!"

Harry turned at the voice, spotting Ron easily through the crowd…that hair of his was unmistakable. Harry waved and then grabbed the trolley on which his luggage sat. Weaving his way carefully across the crowded platform as quickly as he could Harry made his way towards Ron. He was immediately pounced upon by the whole Weasley family, hugs from Mrs Weasley and Ginny, and slaps on the backs and hullos from the others. Harry grinned…he was glad to be back among friends.

"Hi everyone," he said, smiling. "Hey Ron, sorry I didn't write…Hedwig spent the summer locked under the stairs, and _they_ intercepted all my mail. You have no idea how glad I am that this summer is over!"

"I figured as much, mate. Hey, look at it this way, it's the last year this year, right? After that then you can get the hell outta there…Once you're eighteen they can't do diddley-squat about it!" Ron and Harry grinned.

"Any sign of Hermione yet? We're gonna have to get going soon if we don't wanna miss the train…"

"She's not coming today, she wrote last week to say she's got some things to do last minute, so she'll be coming back a few days late." Ron grinned again. "Come on Harry, let's get going!"

With that, they said goodbye to the Weasleys, and Harry, Ron, and Ginny headed for platform 9¾ and the Hogwarts Express.

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Hermione sighed. It was a long trip to Hogwarts when you had no-one to talk to. In a way she was glad of the quiet…she didn't have the energy to talk, or even to listen at the moment. She tried reading one of her newest course books, but it was impossible to concentrate. The words swam around on the page, making all sorts of strange shapes in her head. She slammed the book closed and threw it across the carriage. Its thud as it hit the far wall startled her, and she stared at the book strangely. Realising that it really was the only thing available to occupy her, and that she still had – she checked her watch – 2 hours to go, she reached out and picked it back up. She stared at its pages blankly until a restless sleep claimed her.

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"Hey, Ron! I think Hermione's here! A coach just pulled up at the gates, and…" Harry got no further.

"Come on then!" Ron yelled as he took of running. "Let's go say welcome back!" Harry ran after him, catching up easily.

After Ron and Hermione had broken up last year, Harry hadn't been sure that their friendship would survive. Ron had been bitter for weeks, refusing to talk to Hermione at all, and Hermione had been devastated. She had ended their relationship when she realized that she felt more comfortable just hanging out with Ron than she did when they were making out. She'd tried to explain, but he hadn't wanted to listen to her reasons. Harry had been stuck between a bitter Ron and a miserable Hermione for over a month. Ron had finally relented when he had walked in on Hermione alone and crying in the library, and by the next day it was almost as if nothing had ever happened. Harry had been relieved, but sometimes he worried that Ron was not completely over her. Now was a prime example. Harry just hoped that Ron hadn't started building his hopes up again…

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Hermione woke with a start as the coach stopped, nearly causing her to slide off her seat. She rubbed her eyes and was quickly gathering her things when the door opened. She climbed out and removed her trunk, setting it on the ground. She turned towards Hogwarts to see two blurs racing towards her, one with a distinctly orange top.

She felt a small smile tug at her lips for a second. Her friends. Ron shouted a hello as soon as he thought she would hear him, and managed – just barely – to pull up short of running her down when he reached her. Harry had managed a much more dignified stop, and quickly put a hand out to steady Ron, lest his momentum should backlash at the sudden stop and land him on his backside.

"Hi guys," Hermione said quietly, schooling her expression into a smile.

"Hi 'mione! Have a nice trip? Me and Ron'll carry that trunk for you, do you need to go anywhere, or is it straight to your room to unpack?" Harry smiled cheerfully at her, reaching quickly for her trunk. Ron immediately did the same, adding his own greeting.

"Straight to unpack and sleep for me, thanks," she replied tiredly. Turning to Harry, she continued. "How was summer?"

Harry immediately apologised for his lack of communication, and then went on to detail his summer, and then Ron quickly followed suit. By the time the two of them were done talking they had reached Hermione's room. She quickly thanked them for carrying her trunk, and then went to unpack, leaving the boys to go back to the common room where they'd been playing chess.

If either of them had noticed her uncharacteristic quietness, or the almost forced quality her smiles had had, they put it down to tiredness from her long and probably boring journey.

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Well, there you have it. Please let me know what you think...if my characterisations are awful then tell me how to fix them, except for Hermione, who has a good reason to be out of character. If ya wanna find out more then Review Review Review! 


	2. Trying

A/N: This is my first Harry Potter fic, so if I make any mistakes please be kind

A/N 2: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I was ever-so-slightly, just-a-little-bit shocked when I checked my e-mail and saw **_7_** reviews! Thank you, and keep reading and reviewing!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If ya really wanna sue me then you can have what I got...Student loans debts!

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Hermione closed her door and walked over to the bed. Sitting down rather abruptly, she pulled her feet up onto the bed, and hugged her knees tightly to her chest. For the next minute or so, she fought to stop the shakes that threatened to overcome her, and finally she got her breathing back under control. 

She was glad that Harry and Ron were the only people she had run into so far…she had been terrified that she'd have to push her way through crowded hallways to get to her room. She shuddered, shaking her head to clear the hated thoughts that filled it.

That done – or as done as it is getting, at any rate, she thought disconsolately – she looked around her room slowly. The Head Girl's room. It looked overwhelmingly huge and empty. She glanced down at her things. They would soon make it liveable, she thought, and with that she reached over to her trunk and began to unpack.

She had missed a days worth of classes already, owing to her late arrival, but when she had spoken with him Dumbledore had assured her that it would not be a problem…the only class likely to have started anything new was, of course, Potions – Snape would never give an easy first lesson – and it had, in the last year, become her best subject, so she would cope.

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Ron had finally beaten Harry at chess – Harry's playing had definitely improved over the last few years. It was getting so that Ron really had to work to even scrape a win these days! As he looked at his watch Ron's stomach was quick to back up the thought that immediately presented itself.

Harry jumped at the rather loud rumbling sound coming from beside him, and grinned as Ron stated "Dinner-time!" and made his way to the common room door.

"Should we go see if Hermione wants to come down? She's probably hungry after all that travelling and unpacking," Harry suggested as he caught up with Ron at the portrait that acted as door to the common room.

"Are you kidding? She's probably asleep…I know I'd be!" Ron quickly headed out and started down the stairs.

"Yeah, I guess…if we checked it'd probably just wake her up, and then we'd both be in the dog-house!"

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Hermione was indeed, at that very moment, curled up under the covers of her newly-made bed, fast asleep. She was also wishing fervently that she would awake. She tossed and turned as she clawed and kicked at an unseen foe, tears streaming down her cheeks from closed eyes.

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The next morning saw an overly tired and slightly ashen looking Hermione trying to desperately to make herself look less of both. A bit of blusher helped with her colouring, but she could find nothing to hide the rather obvious bags under her eyes. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Hermione sighed. Ron and Harry had not noticed them yesterday, so maybe no-one would today? She could always just blame it on her supposed extra long journey.

She thought back to the letter she had written to Dumbledore a week ago. She had told him that she had to visit family in Ireland at the last minute, and would therefore need to arrive a few days late for school. She didn't like to lie, and she hoped fervently that he hadn't been able to tell. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, definitely better than explaining…

She shook her head violently, blocking out the rest of that sentence and the thoughts that went with it. She didn't have time right now, she had to get to class. She had transfigurations first, and afterwards she would have some time to go to the library, where she planned to try and find some kind of glamour spell which would be more effective than make-up at hiding the effects of her less-than-restful sleep.

Hermione picked up her bag and walked to the door. She took a deep breath, composed herself, and began to make her way to class.

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Professor McGonagall huffed in annoyance. Students were supposed to become more mature – at least a bit – by the seventh year, weren't they? Apparently someone forgot to inform these particular seventh years of that fact.

"Mr Weasley!" She spoke as calmly as she could, which was not actually very calmly at all – this was the fourth time her lesson had been disturbed, and they'd only been there twenty minutes so far! "Ten points from Gryffindor, and half an hour of detention after your last class today."

Ron jumped at the sound of her voice, and as he did the empty chair beside him, which had recently achieved flight, crashed noisily to the ground. At the word detention he frowned…he hated McGonagall's detentions, she seemed to have a knack for choosing the very thing you wanted least to do as your 'task' for the detention – Neville had sworn blind once that she could read minds…how else could she possibly _always_ know?

With a point of her wand Professor McGonagall righted the toppled chair, and then continued with the lesson.

Half an hour later McGonagall decided to call upon her class for a volunteer. She wanted to see the spell she had just taught them demonstrated. She got exactly what she expected when no-one volunteered…the spell was not the easiest, and her students seemed to sense that she was in no mood for anyone to make stupid mistakes. Simply put, the class as a whole was too nervous for any part of it to volunteer.

"Very well. Miss Granger, perhaps you could give it a try?"

Hermione looked up, startled. She quickly scanned the page her text-book was open to – the page she had been blankly staring at for the last 45 minutes. If she had been listening to the lesson, it would have been no problem. If she had read the page in the book, she could have fudged her way through it. She imagined hitting her head against the nearest brick-wall…it had been stupid of her to forget where she was, and now she had to figure something out before she joined Ron in detention. If she attempted the spell then Professor McGonagall would know in an instant that she hadn't been paying attention.

"Actually Professor, I'm not feeling so well, could I be excused for a few minutes? I think I need some air."

Her slightly uncertain, shaky voice backed up her statement perfectly.

"Of course Miss Granger. Perhaps you should stop by to see Madame Pomfrey?" There was no hesitation or suspicion in her voice. Hermione was not one of those who would skip lessons unnecessarily, McGonagall knew.

"Yes Professor." Hermione rose from her seat and walked quickly from the classroom.

"Mr Malfoy, please demonstrate the spell." Professor McGonagall continued immediately, not wanting to risk an upset in the calm which had remained unbroken over the class since Ron's little stunt.

As Draco stood and made an elaborate show of performing the spell – the results of which would completely destroy the 'calm' class within less than a minute, since Draco's showy casting turned the spell into something else entirely – Harry nudged Ron.

Leaning over, he whispered, "I hope Hermione's okay, it's not like her to miss even a minute of class…"

Ron had no chance to reply, as the whole class burst into laughter staring and pointing at the spot where, just a few seconds ago, Draco had stood. Now there was a small, rather scruffy looking ferret in his place. Harry and Ron quickly became caught up in the hilarity of it all, Ron very nearly falling off his seat.

At the front of the classroom Professor McGonagall allowed a small grin to slip unnoticed onto her face. She had known exactly what the boy's over-acting and embellishing of the movements would do, and should – as a Professor – have warned him, but she was of the opinion that it couldn't hurt to have Draco knocked down a peg by a slight mis-adventure. It wasn't as if the spell was permanent, after all.

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There's chapter 2! This is the first time I've written a story that's gone past chapter 1! Yay me! As before, please let me know what you think...and, as before, if ya wanna find out more then Review Review Review! 


	3. An Interesting Morning

A/N: This is my first Harry Potter fic, so if I make any mistakes please be kind

A/N 2: Sori it's taken me so long to update, I've just started a new job, and I've been kinda swamped. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed!Please keep reading and reviewing, I find reviews tend to inspire my writing...strange that..._grins_...

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If ya really wanna sue me then you can have what I got...Student loans debts!

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'Why did she _have_ _to_ suggest seeing Madam Pomfrey! If I go there she'll know I'm not ill, but if I don't then McGonagall will wonder why! Can't I get a break!' Hermione fairly growled as she hurried through the corridors. She ignored the little voice in the back of her head. It was whispering something about how she shouldn't have faked ill, and she really didn't want to hear that right now. Her mental rant stopped abruptly as she realised where she was. 

She'd wound up at the infirmary after all! '_Damn!_' Hermione huffed in annoyance. 'Oh well, she can't _prove_ that I didn't feel ill earlier, can she? I could pass it off as…..hunger, or too much chocolate or something…..I don't know!' With that Hermione walked into the infirmary.

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Madam Pomfrey was not having a good day. She'd been trying to re-organise her potions cabinet, and had knocked one of the potions over. It wouldn't have been so bad, but she had just _had_ to try and catch it, hadn't she? Her arm had bumped the shelf – the one she had just re-filled – and sent about two dozen more potions flying up into the air. She'd jumped out of the way as they crashed to the ground, but that hadn't helped at all.

Certain potions had contained certain ingredients which should _not_ be mixed with certain other ingredients in certain other potions. Not that gravity cared about that one jolt of course, as was evidenced by the numerous small explosions, and the clouds of odd smelling gases given off. One of these gases had reacted with her hair dye, and her hair was now a wonderful shade of blue. Another had decided that normally pitched voices were over-rated – Madam Pomfrey's now varied from piercingly high to ominously low, completely at random.

No, Madam Pomfrey was not having a good day at all…and it wasn't even afternoon yet!

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Hermione stifled a giggle at the sight which presented itself. She briefly wondered if maybe Lavender and Pavarti had tried to give Madame Pomfrey a makeover, but somehow that didn't seem very likely, despite the obviously new hair colour.

"Madame Pomfrey?"

"What is it Hermione?"

Hermione almost lost her composure. _What_ had happened to her voice! 'Probably the same reason her hair is suddenly electric blue….' Hermione thought wryly.

"Umm, is everything okay, Madame Pomfrey?"

"I've had better mornings, but what brings you here Hermione? Shouldn't you be in class?" 'better mornings….now that's understating the whole thing a bit….' she thought gloomily. She didn't even know where to start with her voice, she could always just try re-dying her hair though. 'Good idea! Add some more chemicals, if you're lucky it might turn pink this time!'

"Professor McGonagall let me out early, I was feeling a bit unwell, and she suggested I come see you…" Hermione trailed off. The less details she gave, the less obvious her faking would be.

"Well, I'll have you right as rain again soon, I'm sure." Madame Pomfrey seemed to have forgotten about her problem a bit, despite the rather obvious signs, now that she had something to focus on. Hermione answered her many (many many) questions as vaguely as she could, and quickly began reassuring the woman that she felt fine now, honestly.

Finally Madame Pomfrey seemed convinced that Hermione was perfectly able to return to her lessons. A glance at her watch told Hermione that she was already late for her next class…Potions. She stifled a sigh, and quickly headed for the door.

"Hermione?"

She paused at the door, turning to see what the medi-witch wanted.

"You have potions now, don't you dear?"

"Yes, Madame Pomfrey." 'And Snape's gonna kill me for being late.' "Why?"

"Could you tell Professor Snape that I need to see him as soon as possible? It's not urgent, but straight after your class would be good, if he's got time." She gestured to her hair as she spoke, and Hermione realised what must've happened.

'She mixed some un-mixy potions…she's lucky it wasn't worse than that!'

"Of course." 'Unless….maybe…' "Could I help? I'm quite good at potions, you know," Hermione asked hopefully. If she missed the class entirely then Snape couldn't give her detention, and she'd have an excuse he couldn't really argue with if he asked her about it next lesson.

"You ought to get back to class, child."

"Of course." 'Damn! Think quick Granger!' "By the way, I'm pretty sure Professor Snape has classes all day today." 'Just a bit more, she's almost sold!' Hermione half mumbled what she said next, making sure Madame Pomfrey would hear it, but making it seem unintentional. "Damn damp dungeons, I'll catch my death down there!"

"Hermione?" She'd actually been through the door this time, the response took that long coming. "Would it put you behind at all if you missed this lesson?"

Madame Pomfrey felt quite guilty, asking Hermione to skip class, but the longer she waited to sort out her mishap, the worse the side-effects could become. Her voice was already becoming quite strained, and Merlin only knew what that stuff was doing to her hair! 'Besides,' she thought, 'if the child _is_ ill, the dungeons are the last place she should be.'

Having justified her actions, she quickly filled in Hermione - who had already come back in and put her bag safely on the desk out of the way - on what had happened.

"Do you have a list of every potion that broke?"

She was immediately handed the list which Madame Pomfrey had finished writing only moments before Hermione's arrival.

"This is everything. Do you need anything else?"

"Some paper to write on, please," Hermione replied as she reached into her bag for her potions encyclopedia – she always took it to potions lessons with her, so that she could sneak a peek at any extra info on the potions they were studying if she had chance. It was best to be over-prepared, in Hermione's opinion – and her quill.

Hermione quickly sat down, and began listing all the ingredients of the potions. She then went through her encyclopedia, flipping expertly through the now well-known pages, and listed every potion which could account for what Madame Pomfrey was experiencing.

Within an hour she was calling Madame Pomfrey – who had been tending to a first-year Huffle-puff with a broken leg who'd fallen down the stairs the day before – to ask her a few more questions.

"I need to know how many vials of dreamless sleep potion were in the cupboard?"

"Umm, I think there were five, why?"

"I've narrowed it down to two possibilities for what is affecting your voice. The only difference in the two is the amount of Mandrake root used, and since the dreamless sleep potion is the only one containing Mandrake root…" Hermione trailed off as she began figuring the amount in five vials into her workings, and a moment later she smiled up at the medi-witch.

"Could you get these ingredients for me?" She handed over a quickly scrawled list. "It'll take me about an hour to brew the potion to fix your voice."

"Of course, dear. Thank you, I'm starting to drive myself to distraction everytime I speak!" She hurried off to collect up everything on Hermione's list, and Hermione began working on a fix for her hair.

Within two hours Madame Pomfrey was back to normal, and Hermione was headed back to her room. Professor Dumbledore had paid a visit just as the hair de-colourant was finishing brewing, and had commended Hermione on a job well-done as it quickly performed it's appointed task. She had immediately been awarded 100 house points, and told by the Headmaster that she was excused from classes for the remainder of the day. He had quickly silenced her protestations by saying that she had worked hard enough already, and deserved a small break.

As she walked out, Professor Dumbledore gathered up her abandoned workings and put them safely in his pocket. 'Severus will be interested in these, no doubt,' he thought, as he bid Madame Pomfrey good day.

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Hermione went straight to her bathroom and retrieved a vial of headache potion from her cabinet. She hadn't concentrated that hard since before _it_ had happened. Everytime she thought at all her thoughts ultimately turned in that direction, and to keep them from doing so at all this morning had been impossible. She had managed to ignore it for the most part, but doing so had given her one hell of a headache. She was relieved that Dumbledore had given her the rest of the day off. The headache potion worked quickly enough, but she felt drained, and wanted nothing more than to sleep.

She reached for a vial ofdreamless sleep potion – she should have done the same yesterday, but it had not occurred to her, as tired as she'd been – and then withdrew her hand, cursing softly. She didn't dare take the two so close together, they had been key contributers to Madame Pomfrey's mess, and she hadn't actually ingested them…

She decided to wait a half hour, and then take the other. She fixed herself a cup of tea and picked curled up on an arm-chair to wait.

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I've said it before, I'll say it again, if ya wanna know more then Review Review Review! I'm looking for someone to beta this story for me, so if anyone's interested then let me know. I'll give a virtual cookie to the first person to guess what's actually going on with Hermione..._grins_... 


	4. A Suggestion

A/N: This is my first Harry Potter fic, so if I make any mistakes please be kind

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If ya really wanna sue me then you can have what I got...Student loans debts!

A/N 2: I know I've taken forever to update, sori!

_Natsuyori, Transylvanian, Innogen, momsangel: thanx for reviewing! It's much appreciated!_

_ghzowy: Thanx! A beta is basically like an editor, they check the story over, fix any disasters in the writing, and sometimes offer suggestions/ideas for the story._

_Max: Thanx for the praise! I'd love to give you the cookie, but you're not quite right, good guess though!_

_Everyone: Please keep reading and reviewing!_

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Albus Dumbledore was headed towards the dungeons. He had headed there straight from the infirmary - by way of a slight detour, that is. He had ensured that Hermione had, indeed, returned to her room, and not headed to the library instead. 

There was something not right with the girl, he was sure of it. It wasn't like her to miss class….he'd actually thought that she'd have still turned up if she had had to wheel her deathbed in, and yet she'd voluntarily left Minerva's class earlier. And now...she had been excused from lessons, and he had fully expected her to head straight for the library. She spent most of her time out of classes there or with Harry and Ron, and since they would still be in class……but she hadn't even considered it. She had walked straight to her room, by the shortest route possible, using one short-cut that even he didn't know of.

"Maybe it's something to do with that urgent family business she had in Ireland? It could have been a funeral or something….she would doubtless be out of sorts if that's the case…." He muttered to himelf.

"Talking to yourself Albus? That's the first sign of madness, you know."

The voice startled him out of his reverie.

"Severus, my boy! I was just coming to see you," Albus replied with a grin.

"Oh? If it is about a certain Gryffindor know-it-all then you've saved me a journey. Miss Granger has yet to attend a potions class this year. Has she decided to spare us all her annoying presence and not return to Hogwarts this year?"

It could be said that although, since the fall of Voldermort, Severus Snape had developed something like a sense of humour, and even a little leniency on occasion, he still clung as much as ever to the nasty bastard image which had served him so well for so many years.

Albus was perhaps the only person who persisted to see through it, and Snape was certain that he and his ever-twinkling eyes were going to one day drive him insane.

"Miss Granger is back at Hogwarts, Severus, and you can't mean to tell me that you were actually enjoying the prospect of losing your best student?"

Albus was equally certain that one day his teasing would drive Severus somewhere, although he favoured civility and good humourto insanity as the destination.

The two began heading for Snape's office, which was far closer than Dumbledore's. Once there and settled comfortably with a cup of tea in hand, Dumbledore explained Hermione's late arrival at Hogwarts.

"I fail to see how that would cause her to miss today's potions lesson. If she arrived yesterday then she has had plenty of time to settle in."

"Yes, and she did attend her Tranfigurations class this morning. Minerva has informed me that she left the lesson early, feeling quite unwell."

Snape looked slightly surprised at this, but quickly hid it.

"My reaction was much the same, Severus. Miss Granger reported to Madame Pomfrey, who has since given her a clean bill of health, and a warning to return if she feels unwell again."

"Then why was she not in my class? Surely she could not have been detained that long in the infirmary?" Snape demanded in indignation.

"It seems that Miss Granger's arrival at the infirmary was most opportune.Poppy had, only five minutes earlier, had a most unfortunate accident…" Dumbledore was quickly cut off before he could elaborate.

"Is Poppy okay?" It was moments like these which proved that Snape was not the heartless bastard he would have everyone believe he was.

"Calm yourself, my boy. It was nothing serious, though I daresay Poppy was vexed enough by it at the time."

Dumbledore paused to grin, both at Snape's reaction, and the side-effects Madame Pomfrey had had to endure.

"You will no doubt be receiving a list from her shortly of potions she'll need brewed. A good portion of her stock recently came to a messy end on the infirmary floor. I don't need to tell you that the mixing of some of those potions caused rather strange side-effects, since Poppy was unable to move far enough away in time," Albus said, reaching into his pocket to retrieve Hermione's notes from earlier. "I thought maybe you might like to take a look at these?"

"Is it a list of the potions? I can't do anything about these side-effects until I know what's caused them Albus. I'm assuming they aren't serious, since you've certainly taken your time getting to the point." Snape snorted slightly as a thought hit him. "What were the side-effects? Anything interesting?"

"Electric blue hair, and I'm told that her voice also went a little…funny."

Snape sniggered. 'Electric blue hair! I'll have to see that before I fix it…wait, he was told? Was the voice temporary then?'

"The effect on her voice was only temporary then? Good, I'm busy enough as it is, without all this nonsense."

"If you take a look at these, I'm sure it'll explain everything Severus," Albus said, holding out the papers.

Snape silently took them, and began to look over them. His face grew more and more confused as he read. The notes were very detailed, a meticulous description of the potions involved, what they contained, potions which could cause the side-effects, and which ones could be made from the available ingredients.

"But who…?" Realisation lit his face as he remembered the beginnings of this whole conversation. "Miss Granger?"

Albus nodded.

"How long?"

"A little under three hours, from what Poppy told me. I walked in as Hermione was putting the final touches to the potion to fix her hair."

"Three hours!" Snape's incredulous exression didn't do justice to his feelings. The potions involved were more complicated than anyher classhad studied thus far.To figure them out, andfind counter-potions for them, in _three hours_, no less! It was beyond comprehension.

Although if anyone could do it, it would be Miss Granger, he admitted to himself. He had a grudging respect for the Gryffindor, although he'd never let her know that.

"I thought as much. But Miss Granger is the brightest pupil we have had at Hogwarts in twenty years." Dumbledore gave Snape a look which plainly said what his words didn't. She was the brightest pupil since Severus himself.

Severus secretly thought that she was smarter even than he, but did not say so. That she had ended up in Gryffindor irked him no end.

"It will be a great pity to lose her at the end of this year, Severus. I know you well enough to know that, despite appearances, you respect - and maybe even admire? – her intelligence and her eagerness to learn."

Snape made to protest this, but was cut off before he could begin.

"Relax, my boy, your secret's safe with me."

Not entirely reassured, Snape waited for Dumbledore to continue.

"I have a small proposal for you Severus. I think it would be a very good idea for you to give Miss Granger the opportunity to become your apprentice."

Dumbledore sat back and waited for the Potions master to absorb what had been said.

"You want what...?" Snape didn't quite no what else to say. Albus had that determined look in his eyes, and Snape could already see that arguing would be useless. Albus Dumbledore never lost an argument. 'It's not as if she's going to say yes anyway, she hates you, remember?' Of course! He could agree with Albus, and then wait for Hermione to say "no way", it would save him a lot of hassle. "I seriously doubt that Miss Granger will wish to spend any longer than is necessary under my tutelage Albus, but the offer will be made."

"Excellent!" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as a grin lit his face. He knew exactly what Severus was planning, and he also knew that Hermione, while not being overly fond of Severus' character, would still jump at the chance to become his apprentice. She was not at all insensible of the Potions Master's intelligence and skill.

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You know the drill...Reviews equal more chapters! The virtual cookie is still up for grabs..._grins_... 


	5. Something's Up

A/N: This is my first Harry Potter fic, so if I make any mistakes please be kind

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If ya really wanna sue me then you can have what I got...Student loans debts!

A/N 2: I seem to be getting worse at updating...sori! I was off work ill for a week, and couldn't get to the computer, but that was a week ago, so I've got no excuse for taking this long...I'll try to do better!

_Everyone: thanks for reviewing!_

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Harry and Ron left Care of Magical Creatures in high spirits that afternoon. Hagrid had decided to change teaching tactics now that they were in the seventh year. 

"What're you gonna pick Harry? This sure beats regular lessons, that's for sure!"

"I'm not sure…" Harry definitely thought that this was the best project they'd been given yet. Hagrid had told them all to pick a breed of magical creature, and over the entire year they were to prepare a full report on everything they could find out about their creature. That wasn't the fun part though. The fun part was that they had to obtain an infant of their breed of choice, and raise it for the entire year. Hagrid had handed out a list of creatures he would be able to get hold of for them, and which had been approved by Dumbledore, since no-one wanted anything too dangerous on school grounds in the care of a student.

"Want a game of chess?" Ron asked as they reached the Entrance Hall.

"You've got detention with McGonagall, remember? Besides, I'm gonna go up to the infirmary, see what happened to Hermione. She's probably in her room, so meet me there if I'm not back at the common room, 'k?" With that, Harry turned and headed in the direction of the infirmary.

A much glummer and more sedate Ron stared after him.

'Damn detention! Why'd she have ta go an' give me detention?'

Ignoring the tiny voice which was claiming that he deserved detention – he'd only levitated the chair a few inches! – he turned and walked slowly towards the transfigurations classroom.

Harry wasn't sure what to do. Madame Pomfrey had told him what Hermione had done, and that she'd been given the day off classes to rest after working so hard. He had headed straight for the library from the infirmary…it was like a second home to Hermione, she was probably up to her neck in books by now, he'd thought. He'd checked the whole library, and finally asked Madame Pince if she'd seen her.

Hermione hadn't been to the library at all yet. She'd only been back for two days, true, but still…this was Hermione…

He'd headed to her room next, and this is where he now stood, at a loss. She hadn't told him or Ron her password yet, and the portrait of Godric Gryffindor which was her door was refusing to let him in, or even to alert Hermione to his presence.

He could always just see her at dinner later, he supposed, but he wanted to check on her. Madame Pomfrey had said that she wasn't ill - not even so much as a cold – so why had she walked out of Transfigurations? And why had she been late this term? Ron had said she'd 'had things to do', but what things?

Harry had the distinct impression that something was not right with Hermione.

"Godric, just tell her I'm here, can't you?"

"Certainly not, young man. The young lady shall not be disturbed, I suggest you speak to the Head Boy if it's important."

Harry sighed in exasperation. How many times had he explained?

"I told you Godric, it's not like that. I'm Hermione's friend, I want to speak to her."

"Hey Harry! Seen Hermione yet?" Ron half yelled as he came down the hall.

"She's in her room, but _he,_" Harry indicated the portrait with disgust, "won't let me in, and he won't tell her I'm here, either!"

"Why not?"

"I don't know, he just won't!" Harry turned back to the portrait. "We're not leaving 'til we've seen her."

He sat obstinately against the wall, and Ron followed suit.

"Ummm…Harry? Why don't we just see her at dinner? I mean, if she's not well, maybe she could use some peace and quiet…"

"Madame Pomfrey said there's nothing wrong with her, she's in perfect health."

"Oh." A minute of silence followed. "Then why didn't she come back to class?"

Harry quickly filled Ron in on what he'd found out in the infirmary. Naturally, Ron found the story hilarious, and it took a good few minutes for him to stop laughing.

"Hey, where'd he go?" Ron said suddenly, pointing up at the portrait.

Sure enough, Godric had disappeared.

"Probably got sick of all the noise. He'll be back, can't leave for too long in case anyone wants in."

"Yeah, s'pose."

The conversation quickly turned to quidditch, and the upcoming match against Slytherin.

While the boys had been discussing poor old Pomfrey, Godric had slipped out unnoticed, popping up in his portrait in the Head Girl's sitting room.

The scene was exactly as he'd left it a few hours ago. Hermione lay curled up in an arm-chair, eyes closed. An almost empty cup of tea hung precariously from one of her hands, while the other appeared to be shielding her eyes from the light she hadn't extinguished before drifting off.

'_Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea, letting them in…'_ Godric thought as Hermione whimpered softly.

The whimpers were nothing compared to last night, though. Godric shuddered. Her sobbing, and the heart-wrenching cries…he didn't want to think about what must be in her nightmares.

'_I'll wake her up,'_ he decided. Her friends seemed worried enough – at least Harry did. _'She might talk to them, but if they see her like this, they might not give her chance, they'd fuss and talk and question…yes,I'll wake her up.'_

"Miss Granger…" he spoke softly, he didn't want to startle her, after all. After a few calls she stirred and opened her eyes.

"Miss Granger, I apologise for waking you, but you have visitors. Two young men, demanding I let them in, they were. Refused to leave too, so I thought maybe I should wake you."

"Thank you, give me five minutes, and then let them in please Godric?"

"Certainly Miss Granger." With that Godric returned to the entrance portrait.

Hermione pulled herself up out of the chair, and quickly walked to her bathroom. She washed her tear-stained face quickly, and set about tidying her hair and straightening her robes. As she turned to leave the bathroom she noticed a vial on the shelf. She quickly returned the unused sleeping potion to its spot in the cabinet, and headed back to the sitting room.

"Hmm hmmm." Godric cleared his throat noisily. '_Honestly, I've been back for nearly five minutes, and they've not even noticed…maybe they weren't as worried as I thought…_' he thought irritably.

"Hey, he's back Harry!"

"You gonna let us in yet Godric?"

"Miss Granger says to please come in. She's in the sitting room."

"'bout time, mate!" Ron exclaimed as they both scrabbled to their feet and made their way inside.

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Read **_plus_** Review **_equals _**New Chapter! 

This cookie is looking mighty yummy...if no-one wins it soon I'm keeping it!..._grins..._


	6. Worries

A/N: This is my first Harry Potter fic, so if I make any mistakes please be kind

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If ya really wanna sue me then you can have what I got...Student loans debts!

Thanx for the reviews!

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Ron and Harry walked through the door to find Hermione sitting on the small sofa on the far side of the room. 

"Hiya 'mione! Heard you had an interesting morning…gave us a nice head start on Slytherin for the house cup too!"

"Hi Ron, hi Harry. Did I miss much in classes today? I wanted to go, but Professor Dumbledore practically ordered me not to…"

"Oh it was brilliant! Malfoy screwed up in transfiguration…guess what he turned into…" Ron trailed off with a huge grin.

"What?" Hermione was trying to sound interested, she really was, but Harry and Ron had wasted no time at all making themselves comfortable on the small sofa next to Hermione. '_Why didn't I sit in the chair?_' Hermione thought, edging slowly towards the arm of the sofa.

Not noticing her discomfort, Ron continued his story.

"A ferret! Of all things! Oh, it was so funny, I think even McGonagall was amused!"

"Would you like a drink?" Hermione asked, standing up and crossing the room quickly. She fixed a pot of tea without waiting for an answer, and set it on the small coffee table with three cups, a small jug of milk and a bowl of sugar. Instead of returning to the sofa she sat in the comfy armchair she had been sleeping in earlier.

"But don't you think it's funny Hermione?" Ron prodded, at the same time pouring tea into the three cups. "Not even a little bit?" He handed a cup of tea to Harry, and reached over to give Hermione hers.

She took the cup carefully, nearly dropping it when Ron's hand brushed hers as he handed it to her, and quickly rested it on the arm of the chair so that her shaking hand would be less obvious.

"I…uh, yeah sure, it sounds – funny," she replied haltingly, distractedly. Her attempt to smile was the last straw for Harry. He'd been watching her carefully since they'd arrived, and now she looked more near tears than laughter, her smile almost painfully stretched.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" He asked gently.

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong, I'm fine, everything's fine," she replied hurriedly. He had her full attention now. She was quickly heading towards full-scale panic, which would be very bad, because then they'd **know** something was wrong, and that thought just made her panic even more.

Ron sensed that Harry was the best person to handle this. He doubted humour would be useful here, and besides, he wasn't even sure what Harry was going on about. Hermione seemed fine to him. She was probably just annoyed that they were making fun of the Head Boy, however little she liked him herself.

"Hermione." Harry reached over the table as he spoke, and before she'd realised what he was doing, his hand was softly holding her wrist.

The panic that had been building sky-rocketed, and she leapt from her chair, her tea flying across the room one way as she went the other.

"I said I'm FINE!" She screamed, her whole body shaking furiously.

"Whoa, calm down, 'mione."

Harry had stood up as she flew from her seat, as had Ron, in an effort to avoid being scalded by the flying tea. He raised his arms slightly and made placating gestures as he walked slowly towards her.

"Something's obviously wrong, did something happen this summer? Is that why you were late this year?"

Hermione's mind went almost blank. Only one thought echoed.

'_Oh God oh god oh god oh god! They know! How could they know? Is it that obvious? Oh God oh god oh god!_'

"Is it something to do with your family? Has something happened to them?" Harry kept his voice soft and quiet, not wanting to startle her again. He wasn't quite sure why she had reacted so violently before.

'_Oh God oh god oh g…my family? He thinks…then he doesn't know?_' Her panic receded a little, and she quickly realised how close he was to her – he had moved so that he was now only three feet away, with Ron a few steps behind him, looking incredibly worried. She quickly began edging backwards, only to find the wall blocking her path. '_Do something! Get them to leave, make them think everything's fine._'

"Harry."

Harry stopped moving, and Hermione fought to keep her relief from showing.

"Everything's fine, okay? I just…" she fought to keep her voice level – "I guess I'm just a bit edgy. I mean, it's NEWTs this year. They're so important, and I've been reading about them all summer and revising, and I haven't been getting much sleep. It's nothing, really. I'm fine. As a matter of fact, I was kinda napping when you arrived, trying to catch up a bit."

"You sure?" Harry didn't look completely convinced, but it was so completely _Hermione_ to spend the summer doing work.

"Positive." '_Please believe me!_'

"Well, okay then," Harry replied glancing at Ron, "maybe Ron and I'll go so you can get some more sleep?"

"If you wouldn't mind, I am kinda tired," Hermione replied easily, adding a little yawn for effect. Her panic was quickly receding now, and she could feel the dreamless sleep potion in the other room practically calling out toher.

"Okay," Harry said, heading for the door. Ron followed closely, still not entirely sure what to make of the whole thing. "Just, don't work so hard, ok 'mione?" A slight nagging in the back of his mind made him continue. "'Mione? If there was anything wrong…you do know you can tell us, don't you? Anything at all…"

"I'll try not to work to hard Harry, I promise. Quit worrying and go do your homework, I'm sure you've got some, 'cos you had Snape and McGonagall today."

Harry and Ron both grimaced at the reminder - they had two rather long essays awaiting them - andsaid goodbye, heading back to the Gryffindor common room.

Harry was gone long before Hermione finally answered his last question. Her whispered words fairly echoed in the almost empty room.

"I can't tell you, you wouldn't understand…no one would, Harry. You don't know…I wish I didn't…" She trailed off as the silent tears ran down her cheeks. Not bothering to wipe them, she headed straight for the bathroom cabinet, retrieved the vial, and went to bed. The spilt tea and broken cup could be cleaned up in the morning.

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Godric gazed worriedly at the closed bedroom door. He'd been watching from the corner of his portrait in the sitting room since he'd let Harry and Ron in. Her friends had believed the lie. He would have almost believed it himself, but he'd heard the softly whispered words, and the pain in her voice. He'd heard her crying out in her sleep. Something was dreadfully wrong, and he didn't know what to do.

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Please keep reviewing, it keeps the story alive! 


	7. Revelations: part 1

A/N: This is my first Harry Potter fic, so if I make any mistakes please be kind

A/N 2: Sori it's taken so long to update, but I'm having trouble writing this bit and the next, I want to try and get it as real as I can. If anything seems off, I'm sori.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If ya really wanna sue me then you can have what I got...Student loans debts!

Thanx for the reviews!

_Innogen: I know it's taking me a while to get through this, I've been putting off writing what will probably be now the next chapter, cos I'm not sure how to write it. Hopefully this is enough plot developement to keep you going? On the plus side, this is the longest chapter I've ever written, and the length is due to you...I'm glad you said what you did, this bit wouldn't have been the same in lots of little chapters! Thanx!_

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Hermione wandered slowly through the halls of the third floor. Being Head Girl certainly had its advantages, and being able to patrol the empty corridors was something she had come to appreciate. 

For the last four weeks, since she had returned to Hogwarts, it had been just about the only time she could get any privacy at all. When she was in her rooms Godric constantly tried to start conversations – who'd have thought a portrait could be so chatty? – and Harry and Ron would drop by everyday without fail. At meals and between classes there were students everywhere, and Harry seemed unable to get more than ten feet from her. Even the library no longer offered the solitude it used to. With NEWTs looming, the majority of the seventh years had made it their new home.

At the thought of NEWTs Hermione groaned. Constantly being badgered by her well meaning - but slightly annoying – friends meant that she hadn't had chance to even draw up a revision timetable yet.

Hermione was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even hear the footsteps behind her, rapidly approaching.

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Severus Snape's face brightened as he noticed that he was not the only person in the corridor. He hadn't caught any students out after curfew all week…a grin slid onto his face. He was going to have some fun, see if he couldn't scare the snivelling idiot – whoever it turned out to be – silly before handing out a punishment.

He increased his pace, and noticed with another grin that the student had yet to notice his presence.

He raised his hand and clamped it down firmly on the shoulder in front of him, opening his mouth to speak.

He didn't get chance.

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Hermione let out an ear splitting scream the second she felt it. Wrenching her shoulder from the hand, she spun around with her wand already raised.

Seeing the shadowy figure temporarily frozen in shock she saw her chance and did the only thing she could think of.

"IMPEDIMENTA!"

Caught un-aware, Snape went flying across the corridor. His hand reached reflexively for his wand, and as he hit the ground he cast the dis-arming charm.

A panicked Hermione glanced from the shadowy figure, still unrecognizable to her in the dim hallway, to her wand – now lying uselessly a few feet from her opponent - to the hallway behind her. If she ran he could easily cast another hex at her, but neither did she think she could reach her wand safely.

She hid behind a large statue, huddled up with her arms around her knees, and started to pray that he hadn't seen her hide, that he'd just leave.

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'_What in the hell was that?_' Snape thought, staring in shock at the hallway before him, and the abandoned wand at his feet.

He quickly grabbed the wand and climbed to his feet. The hallway appeared empty, and yet there was no way the girl could have disappeared so quickly. He cursed the poor lighting – if it had been a little brighter he could at least have seen who it was.

A sudden noise grabbed his attention. A soft sob coming from behind the large statue of – '_well, merlin only knows what that thing's supposed to be!_' he thought derisively.

He began heading towards it.

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The muttered curse echoed in the quiet hallway, and a sob escaped Hermione. '_Why can't he just go away? Please go away…_'

She heard the footsteps approaching softly.

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When Severus Snape rounded the corner he looked down at the terrified girl. Her face was buried as she made herself as small as possible, and she was muttering softly.

"No…not again…please not again…no…just leave, please…" Sobs interspersed the desperate plea.

He knelt down carefully a few feet from her, moving slowly so as not to startle her any more, and tried to get a better look at her.

"Miss Granger?" he gasped.

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The familiar voice startled her, drawing her swiftly back from the panic and terror that had consumed her moments before. Her head jerked up, and she found herself face to face with Professor Snape, who was looking very unlike himself – shock, worry and confusion were expressions almost completely foreign to the normally snarky and sarcastic professor.

Relief flashed across Hermione's face, followed closely by comprehension…she realized the mess she was now in. Snape would want an explanation…'_Oh my god! I attacked a teacher! Oh shit!_'

A completely new panic began rising in her chest, and without another thought Hermione leapt to her feet and sprinted past Snape and down the corridor. She didn't stop running until she reached her rooms, and the instant she was through the portrait she reached for her wand to cast an extra warding spell on the door, in case he followed for an explanation.

Hermione cursed when her hand clutched thin air. He had her wand! How could she face him to get it back? '_He'll have you expelled before you get chance, idiot! Which part of you attacked a teacher don't you get?_' a small voice in the back of her mind chided.

When she went to bed that night worries kept her awake well into the early hours. The only silver lining she could find on this monster of a cloud was the fact that it was now the weekend – she would not have to face him until Monday, unless he went straight to the Headmaster about her.

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The next morning when Hermione didn't come down to breakfast, Harry suggested to Ron that they go find her.

"Give the girl a break, Harry! She probably just wanted some peace and quiet for a change. You haven't let her have five minutes to herself all term."

"Well, she's been acting strange! I'm worried about her, okay? She hasn't been right since summer…"

"She's probably just worried about NEWTs. She hasn't had much time to study, partly because you keep insisting we visit her every five minutes. She seems fine to me Harry," Ron replied, exasperated. "Let's just give her some peace and quiet this weekend, if she wants to see us she knows where to find us. I bet she'll be grateful Harry."

"You think?" Harry asked dubiously. Was it just exams? It was a good explanation…Harry was starting to feel a bit foolish – had he really been being a nuisance?

"Yeah, I do. Hey, you started that essay Binns gave us yet?"

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Severus had also forgone breakfast in the Great Hall that morning. He sat in his study, staring blankly at the wand before him. It was now proof that as strange as the previous night was, it was also real.

After spending a great deal of the night thinking about it, there was still one thing which completely confused him. He couldn't explain any of it definitely of course, but he had his suspicions about her intial reactions. He was almost certain he knew why she ran at last.

No, what confused him was the look of complete relief on her face between the two. It didn't fit in with his other suspicions at all.

Severus let out a sigh. What should he do now?

The simplest problem he currently had was her wand. She would need it back, before lessons started on Monday. He doubted she would come and ask for it – '_Hell, she's probably waiting to hear that I've had her expelled!_' – so it was his problem to solve. Sometimes he wished that he really were the nasty bastard everyone thought he was. It would make life so much easier.

'_Not everyone thinks that...you've never been able to fool Albus, and Minerva hasn't been convinced in a long time…concentrate! The wand…_'

He could return it to her himself, but he wasn't sure that was the best option. He needed to figure out how he was going to handle the bigger problem before he spoke to her about any of it, or he could screw it all up. She needed help, that much was clear to him. He just wasn't sure how to give it to her yet…he needed to think.

"Of course!" he exclaimed, grabbing the wand as he leapt from his chair.

It was the perfect solution. She wouldn't feel pressured to try to explain, he would get the extra thinking time he needed, she'd get her wand back, and hopefully realise she wasn't going to be expelled.

He quickly wrote a short note, and made his way to the owlery.

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Hermione looked up from her breakfast at the faint tapping noise. She made her way curiously to the window, opened it, and stepped back as a magnificent black owl entered.

She quickly took the large package it carried, and fetched a few owl treats. After happily accepting them the bird left, and Hermione turned her attention to her parcel.

She'd never seen the owl before, and it certainly wasn't one of the school ones, so she couldn't even begin to guess who might have sent it.

She let out a gasp as the parcel opened to reveal her wand, and quickly reached for the note beneath it.

'**_Miss Granger,_**

_**I shall be most dis-pleased if you disclose to anyone that you managed to get that little jinx past me.**_

_**If you feel the need to explain yourself you know where you may find me.**_

**_Prof. S. Snape._'**

Hermione wasn't sure what to make of the note.

'_Does this mean that he's not going to Professor Dumbledore? I'm not gonna be expelled?_'

It made sense that he didn't want anyone knowing she had managed to get her spell past him, and yet at the same time she had not thought he would let his pride stop him from getting rid of someone who he'd hated for six years now. Was he trying to lure her into a false sense of security?

Somehow she didn't think so. She knew he was honest, he'd proved that often enough, and his letter…the wording…

It seemed to her that he was almost…reassuring her that he wasn't going to tell anyone. He wasn't even demanding an explanation. '_Yet,_' her little inner voice added.

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Hermione paused in the corridor again…was she really going to do this?

The dungeons were completely deserted. No-one wanted to linger down here, especially not when the weather was as beautiful as it was – '_Well, almost no-one,_' Hermione thought.

After thinking about it – something she had done constantly since she had read his note – Hermione had decided that whether he demanded it or not, Professor Snape deserved an explanation. She hadn't decided yet how much she would tell him – if he was even willing to listen, she knew he hated 'excuses' for anything – but the thought of saying anything at all was now becoming too terrifying.

She squared her shoulders resolutely. She owed him an apology at least. She began walking again, heading straight for the Potions Master's office.

With a slightly trembling hand she knocked softly on the door.

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Severus looked up from the essays he was marking.

"Enter!" he barked, annoyed at being disturbed.

At the sight of Hermione Granger striding into his office, Severus stared in disbelief. She had her wand back, what on earth could she want? He covered his surprise admirably, and spoke.

"Miss Granger, I am quite busy. What do you want?"

"I…uh…that is…" Hermione stuttered nervously.

"If you have something to say, then say it Miss Granger," he said impatiently. '_Idiot! Alienating her will not make helping her any easier!_' he chided himself.

"I…I came to say I'm sorry…about last night." She waited, staring at the floor, for his reaction.

"You are lucky, Miss Granger, that it was I, and not a student, who startled you. You could have seriously injured someone, do you realise that?" He spoke earnestly, and as he did so his hand went absently to rub his shoulder where it had impacted with the corridor wall. He had not been hurt badly, but one of the younger students, so much smaller than he was…

The sound of rather violent gasping sobs interrupted his thoughts, and he saw that Hermione had gone pale with shock. She had obviously not considered that possibility yet, and she was not dealing too well with it.

"Calm yourself, Miss Granger." '_What am I supposed to do now?_' "Sit down, for goodness sake. I'll make some tea, it should help you calm down a little."

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Hermione looked up, shocked. The last thing she had expected was this. She had fully expected detentions and docked house points, and here he was – Severus Snape, hated Potions Master, greasy git, and nasty bastard extraordinaire – offering her tea?

She moved slowly to an empty chair, trying desperately to get herself under control. What he'd said had struck a nerve. A younger student might not have known how to dis-arm her, and she wasn't entirely sure that she would have stopped with that one curse.

Would she have run away? Or would she have attacked again? She had been so terrified, she had had only one thought in her head. _It would **not** happen again…she wouldn't let it._ Now she didn't know if she would have stopped, and it scared her to death.

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Severus watched her carefully as he made the tea. His thinking time was up it seemed. He could not help admiring the courage it must have taken for her to face him. He could see that his comment had hit a nerve, and now he found himself wondering what would have happened if he had not dis-armed her?

Picking up the tea tray he made his way to the other chair, and set the tray on the coffee table. He poured two cups, took his, and sat back. He could think of no way to restart the conversation, and so decided to wait and see what she would do and say.

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After what seemed like an eternity, Hermione managed to get herself back under control. She took the second cup of tea from the tray and cradled it between her hands, feeling the warmth spread from the beautiful china to her chilled fingers.

"I was so scared…I didn't even consider…"

Severus watched silently as her voice trailed off. She wasn't looking at him, and he suspected that she wasn't talking to him either. She sounded as though she was lost in thought, and he remained as still and silent as possible, not wanting to break the calm.

She was silent for a few minutes, and then suddenly began to speak. Her voice was clear, her eyes focused firmly on her tea cup.

"They didn't want me to come back, you know. They wanted to keep me there, to keep an eye on me. They didn't understand that…" her voice caught, and her eyes began to tear up. She shook her head slightly, resolutely, and continued. "They didn't realise that in my mind, he was waiting around every corner. I couldn't leave the house alone anymore. They'll probably never find him, that's what the police said to my parents. They thought I wasn't listening...thought I was asleep. I was in hospital for two weeks, you know. That's why I was late this term." She raised her head, and locked eyes with her teacher. "I thought he'd found me. I thought you were him, and I wanted to hurt him, so badly. I think…" She broke off, a look of realisation crossing her face. "I think I wanted to kill him…"

Her expression became one of guilt and gratitude…a peculiar mixture.

"Thank you, Professor," she whispered softly.

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Severus sat in stunned silence as she spoke.

He was now glad that his shoulder was bruised and aching, glad that it was he who had happened upon her the previous night. He had been able to stop her when she couldn't stop herself. Her gratitude for that was not lost on him, despite her nearly inaudible thanks.

He didn't know what to say. Would she continue if he gave her chance? He wasn't sure he wanted to hear any more, but he was sure she had told no-one else at Hogwarts – '_not even Albus knows,_' he thought, remembering what he'd overheard of the Headmaster's mutterings at the beginning of term – and he knew that it could help for her to have someone around who knew…someone she could talk to whenever it got to be too much for her.

The silence stretched, and he realised that she was waiting for him to say something. He had no idea what he was supposed to say, he never had been good at dealing with delicate situations.

"Miss Granger…"

"I'm sorry, Professor, I should go…you're busy, you don't need…I should go. Thank you for the tea." She set her still full cup on the table as she spoke, and made to leave.

"Miss Granger," he said again, his voice no longer uncertain, but soft and commanding. Hermione paused. "Marking second year essays is hardly of great import or urgency…I could be wrong…" He pointedly ignored the smirk on her face at that remark, and continued, "but maybe you need someone to talk to? I'm sure I'm not the most obvious choice, but I think maybe I could help you…"

"Why are you being nice to me?" Hermione's voice was strained…she refused to cry again…she wanted to scream at him for making her need to cry again.

"I'm not quite so terrible that you think me incapable of compassion, am I? What you have been through…" his voice caught slightly, and then he continued, "what you have been through is something no-one should have to go through…you may rest assured that I will not tell a soul anything you tell me in confidence, Miss Granger."

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My attempt at a cliff-hanger...is it any good?..._grins_...will she talk? will we finally find out what happened to Hermione? review and all will be revealed... 

A/N: I may have internet problems for a while...I'm changing internet providers, not sure how long it'll take to sort out. I may get the next chapter up before-hand, but if not then it'll be a.s.a.p, promise!


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